Hydrogen producing apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for producing orthohydrogen and/or parahydrogen. The apparatus includes a container holding water and at least one pair of closely-spaced electrodes arranged within the container and submerged in the water. A first power supply provides a particular first pulsed signal to the electrodes. A coil may also be arranged within the container and submerged in the water if the production of parahydrogen is also required. A second power supply provides a second pulsed signal to the coil through a switch to apply energy to the water. When the second power supply is disconnected from the coil by the switch and only the electrodes receive a pulsed signal, then orthohydrogen can be produced. When the second power supply is connected to the coil and both the electrodes and coil receive pulsed signals, then the first and second pulsed signals can be controlled to produce parahydrogen. The container is self-pressurized and the water within the container requires no chemical catalyst to efficiently produce the orthohydrogen and/or parahydrogen. Heat is not generated, and bubbles do not form on the electrodes.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/608,316, filed Jun. 30, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,419,815, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/105,023, filed Jun. 26,1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,794.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to methods for producing orthohydrogen andparahydrogen.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional electrolysis cells are capable of producing hydrogen andoxygen from water. These conventional cells generally include twoelectrodes arranged within the cell which apply energy to the water tothereby produce hydrogen and oxygen. The two electrodes areconventionally made of two different materials.

However, the hydrogen and oxygen generated in the conventional cells aregenerally produced in an inefficient manner. That is, a large amount ofelectrical power is required to be applied to the electrodes in order toproduce the hydrogen and oxygen. Moreover, a chemical catalyst such assodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide must be added to the water toseparate hydrogen or oxygen bubbles from the electrodes. Also, theproduced gas must often be transported to a pressurized container forstorage, because conventional cells produce the gases slowly. Also,conventional cells tend to heat up, creating a variety of problems,including boiling of the water. Also, conventional cells tend to formgas bubbles on the electrodes which act as electrical insulators andreduce the function of the cell.

Accordingly, it is extremely desirable to produce a large amount ofhydrogen and oxygen with only a modest amount of input power.Furthermore, it is desirable to produce the hydrogen and oxygen with“regular” tap water and without any additional chemical catalyst, and tooperate the cell without the need for an additional pump to pressurizeit. It would also be desirable to construct the electrodes using thesame material. Also, it is desirable to produce the gases quickly, andwithout heat, and without bubbles on the electrodes.

Orthohydrogen and parahydrogen are two different isomers of hydrogen.Orthohydrogen is that state of hydrogen molecules in which the spins ofthe two nuclei are parallel. Parahydrogen is that state of hydrogenmolecules in which the spins of the two nuclei are antiparallel. Thedifferent characteristics of orthohydrogen and parahydrogen lead todifferent physical properties. For example, orthohydrogen is highlycombustible whereas parahydrogen is a slower burning form of hydrogen.Thus, orthohydrogen and parahydrogen can be used for differentapplications. Conventional electrolytic cells make only orthohydrogenand parahydrogen. Parahydrogen, conventionally, is difficult andexpensive to make.

Accordingly, it is desirable to produce cheaply orthohydrogen and/orparahydrogen using a cell and to be able to control the amount of eitherproduced by the cell. It is also desirable to direct the producedorthohydrogen or parahydrogen to a coupled machine in order to provide asource of energy for the same.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a cellhaving electrodes and containing water which produces a large amount ofhydrogen and oxygen in a relatively small amount of time, and with amodest amount of input power, and without generating heat.

It is another object of the present invention for the cell to producebubbles of hydrogen and oxygen which do not bunch around or on theelectrodes.

It is also an object of the present invention for the cell to properlyoperate without a chemical catalyst. Thus, the cell can run merely ontap water. Moreover, the additional costs associated with the chemicalcatalyst can be avoided.

It is another object of the present invention for the cell to beself-pressurizing. Thus, no additional pump is needed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cell havingelectrodes made of the same material. This material can be stainlesssteel, for example. Thus, the construction of the cell can be simplifiedand corresponding costs reduced.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a cell which iscapable of producing orthohydrogen, parahydrogen or a mixture thereofand can be controlled to produce any relative amount of orthohydrogenand parahydrogen desired by the user.

It is another object of the invention to couple the gaseous output ofthe cell to a device, such as an internal combustion engine, so that thedevice may be powered from the gas supplied thereto.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the presentinvention will be more apparent upon consideration of the followingdetailed description and appended claims with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designatecorresponding parts in the various figures.

Accordingly, the present invention includes a container for holdingwater. At least one pair of closely-spaced electrodes are positionedwithin the container and submerged under the water. A first power supplyprovides a particular pulsed signal to the electrodes. A coil is alsoarranged in the container and submerged under the water. A second powersupply provides a particular pulsed signal through a switch to theelectrodes.

When only the electrodes receive a pulsed signal, then orthohydrogen canbe produced. When both the electrodes and coil receive pulsed signals,then parahydrogen or a mixture of parahydrogen and orthohydrogen can beproduced. The container is self pressurized and the water within thecontainer requires no chemical catalyst to efficiently produce theorthohydrogen and/or parahydrogen.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a cell for producing orthohydrogen including apair of electrodes according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a cell for producing orthohydrogen includingtwo pairs of electrodes according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a cell for producing orthohydrogen including apair of cylindrical-shaped electrodes according to a third embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4a is a diagram illustrating a square wave pulsed signal which canbe produced by the circuit of FIG. 5 and applied to the electrodes ofFIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 4b is a diagram illustrating a saw tooth wave pulsed signal whichcan be produced by the circuit of FIG. 5 and applied to the electrodesof FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 4c is a diagram illustrating a triangular wave pulsed signal whichcan be produced by the circuit of FIG. 5 and applied to the electrodesof FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 5 is an electronic circuit diagram illustrating a power supplywhich is connected to the electrodes of FIGS. 1-3;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a cell for producing at least parahydrogenincluding a coil and a pair of electrodes according to a fourthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of a cell for producing at least parahydrogenincluding a coil and two pairs of electrodes according to a fifthembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a cell for producing at least parahydrogenincluding a coil and a pair of cylindrical-shaped electrodes accordingto a sixth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is an electronic circuit diagram illustrating a power supplywhich is connected to the coil and electrodes of FIGS. 6-8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention including acell for producing hydrogen and oxygen. As will be discussed below inconjunction with FIGS. 6-8, the production of parahydrogen requires anadditional coil not shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the hydrogen produced by thefirst embodiment of FIG. 1 is orthohydrogen.

The cell includes a closed container 111 which is closed at its bottomportion by threaded plastic base 113 and screw thread base 109. Thecontainer 111 can be made of, for example, plexiglass and have anexemplary height of 43 cm and an exemplary width of 9 cm. The container111 holds tap water 110 therein.

The cell further includes a pressure gauge 103 to measure the pressurewithin the container 111. An outlet valve 102 is connected to the top ofthe container 111 to permit any gas within the container 111 to escapeinto an output tube 101.

The cell also includes a pop valve 106 connected to a base 113. The popvalve 106 provides a safety function by automatically releasing thepressure within the container 111 if the pressure exceeds apredetermined threshold. For example, the pop valve 106 may be set sothat it will open if the pressure in the container exceeds 75 p.s.i.Since the container 111 is built to withstand a pressure of about 200p.s.i., the cell is provided with a large safety margin.

A pair of electrodes 105 a, 105 b are arranged within the container 111.The electrodes 105 a, 105 b are submerged under the top level of thewater 110 and define an interaction zone 112 therebetween. Theelectrodes 105 a, 105 b are preferably made of the same material, suchas stainless steel.

In order to produce an optimal amount of hydrogen and oxygen, an equalspacing between the electrodes 105 a, 105 b must be maintained.Moreover, it is preferable to minimize the spacing between theelectrodes 105 a, 105 b. However, the spacing between the electrodes 105a, 105 b cannot be positioned excessively close because arcing betweenthe electrodes 105 a, 105 b would occur. It has been determined that aspacing of 1 mm is optimal spacing for producing hydrogen and oxygen.Spacing up to 5 mm can work effectively, but spacing above 5 mm has notworked well, except with excessive power.

Hydrogen and oxygen gas outputted through output tube 101 can betransmitted by tube 101 to a device 120 using those gases, for examplean internal combustion engine, such as shown in FIG. 1. Instead of aninternal combustion engine, device 120 may be any device using hydrogenand oxygen, including a reciprocating piston engine, a gas turbineengine, a stove, a heater, a furnace, a distillation unit, a waterpurification unit, a hydrogen/oxygen jet, or other device using thegases. With an adequately productive example of the present invention,any such device 120 using the output gases can be run continuouslywithout the need for storing dangerous hydrogen and oxygen gases.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention which includesmore than one pair of electrodes 205 a-d. The spacing between theelectrodes is less than 5 mm as in the embodiment of FIG. 1. While FIG.2 shows only one additional pair of electrodes, it is possible toinclude many more pairs (e.g., as many as 40 pairs of electrodes) withinthe cell. The rest of the cell illustrated in FIG. 2 remains the same asthat illustrated in FIG. 1. The multiple electrodes are preferably flatplates closely spaced, parallel to each other.

FIG. 3 illustrates a cell having cylindrically shaped electrodes 305 a,305 b. The outer electrode 305 b surrounds the coaxially aligned innerelectrode 305 a. The equal spacing of the electrodes 305 a, 305 b isless than 5 mm and the interactive zone is coaxially arranged betweenthe two electrodes 305 a, 305 b. While FIG. 3 illustrates the topportion of the container 111 being formed by a plastic cap 301, it willbe appreciated to those skilled in the art that the cap 301 may be usedin the embodiments of FIGS. 1-2 and the embodiment of FIG. 3 can utilizethe same container 111 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2. As suggested by FIG. 3,the electrodes can be almost any shape such as flat plates, rods, tubesor coaxial cylinders.

The electrodes 105 a, 105 b of FIG. 1 (or electrodes 205 a-d of FIG. 2or electrodes 305 a, 305 b of FIG. 3) are respectively connected topower supply terminals 108 a, 108 b so that they can receive a pulsedelectrical signal from a power supply. The pulsed signal can be almostany waveform and have a variable current level, voltage level, frequencyand mark-space ratio (i.e., a ratio of the duration of a single pulse tothe interval between two successive pulses). For example, the powersupply providing power to the electrodes can be a mains 110 volts to a12 volt supply or a car battery.

FIG. 4a, FIG. 4b and FIG. 4c illustrate a square wave, a saw tooth waveand a triangular wave, respectively which can be applied to theelectrodes 105 a, 105 b (or 205 a-d or 305 a, 305 b) in accordance withthe present invention. Each of the waveforms illustrated in FIGS. 4a-4 chas a 1:1 mark-space ratio. As shown in FIG. 4b, the saw tooth wave willonly reach a peak voltage at the end of the pulse duration. As shown inFIG. 4c, the triangular wave has a low peak voltage. It has been foundthat optimal results for producing hydrogen and oxygen in the presentinvention are obtained using a square wave.

After initiation of the pulsed signal from the power supply, theelectrodes 105 a, 105 b continuously and almost instantaneously generatehydrogen and oxygen bubbles from the water 110 in the interaction zone112. Moreover, the bubbles can be generated with only minimal heating ofthe water 110 or any other part of the cell. These bubbles rise throughthe water 110 and collect in the upper portion of the container 111.

The generated bubbles are not bunched around or on the electrodes 105 a,105 b and thus readily float to the surface of the water 110. Therefore,there is no need to add a chemical catalyst to assist the conduction ofthe solution or reduce the bubble bunching around or on the electrodes105 a, 105 b. Thus, only tap water is needed for generation of thehydrogen and oxygen in the present invention.

The gases produced within the container are self-pressurizing (i.e.,pressure builds in the container by the production of gas, without anair pump). Thus, no additional pump is needed to be coupled to thecontainer 111 and the produced gases do no need to be transported into apressurized container.

The power supply in the present invention is required to provide apulsed signal having only 12 volts at 300 ma (3.6 watts). It has beenfound that an optimal amount of hydrogen and oxygen has been producedwhen the pulsed signal has mark-space ratio of 10:1 and a frequency of10-250 KHz. Using these parameters, the prototype cell of the presentinvention is capable of producing gas at the rate of 1 p.s.i. perminute. Accordingly, the cell of the present invention is capable ofproducing hydrogen and oxygen in a highly efficient manner, quickly andwith low power requirements.

As noted above, the hydrogen produced by the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3 isorthohydrogen. As is well understood by those skilled in the art,orthohydrogen is highly combustible. Therefore, any orthohydrogenproduced can be transported from the container 11 through valve 102 andoutlet tube 101 to be used by a device such as an internal combustionengine.

The present invention, with sufficient electrodes, can generate hydrogenand oxygen fast enough to feed the gases directly into an internalcombustion engine or turbine engine, and run the engine continuouslywithout accumulation and storage of the gases. Hence, this provides forthe first time a hydrogen/oxygen driven engine that is safe because itrequires no storage of hydrogen or oxygen gas.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary power supply for providing D.C. pulsedsignals such as those illustrated in FIGS. 4a-4 c to the electrodesillustrated in FIGS. 1-3. As will be readily understood by those skilledin the art, any other power supply which is capable of providing thepulsed signals discussed above can be substituted therefor.

The power supply illustrated in FIG. 5 includes the following parts andtheir exemplary components or values:

Astable circuit NE555 or equivalent logic circuit Resistor R2 10KResistor R3 10K Resistor R4 10K Resistor R5 2.7K Resistor R6 2.7KTransistor TR1 2N3904 Transistor TR2 2N3904 Transistor TR3 2N3055 or anyhigh speed, high current silicon switch Diode D2 1N4007 Capacitors (notshown) Vcc by-pass capacitors as required.

The astable circuit is connected to the base of transistor TR1 throughresistor R2. The collector of transistor TR1 is connected to voltagesupply Vcc through resistor R5 and the base of transistor TR2 throughresistor R3. The collector of transistor TR2 is connected to voltagesupply Vcc through resistor R6 and the base of transistor TR3 throughresistor R4. The collector of transistor TR3 is connected to one of theelectrodes of the cell and diode D2. The emitters of transistors TR1,TR2, TR3 are connected to ground. Resistors R5 and R6 serve as collectorloads for transistors TR1 and TR2, respectively. The cell serves as thecollector load for transistor TR3. Resistors R2, R3 and R4 serve torespectively ensure that transistors TR1, TR2 and TR3 are saturated. Thediode D2 protects the rest of the circuit from any induced back emfwithin the cell.

The astable circuit is used to generate a pulse train at a specific timeand with a specific mark-space ratio. This pulse train is provided tothe base of transistor TR1 through resistor R2. Transistor TR1 operatesas an invert switch. Thus, when the astable circuit produces an outputpulse, the base voltage of the transistor TR1 goes high (i.e., close toVcc or logic 1). Hence, the voltage level of the collector of transistorTR1 goes low (i.e., close to ground or logic 0).

Transistor TR2 also operates as an inverter. When the collector voltageof transistor TR1 goes low, the base voltage of transistor TR2 also goeslow and transistor TR2 turns off. Hence, the collector voltage oftransistor TR2 and the base voltage of Transistor TR3 go high.Therefore, the transistor TR3 turns on in accordance with the mark-spaceratio set forth by the astable circuit. When the transistor TR3 is on,one electrode of the cell is connected to Vcc and the other is connectedto ground through transistor TR3. Thus, the transistor TR3 can be turnedon (and off) and therefore the transistor TR3 effectively serves as apower switch for the electrodes of the cell.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate additional embodiments of the cell which aresimilar to the embodiments of FIGS. 1-3, respectively. However, each ofembodiments of FIGS. 6-8 further includes a coil 104 arranged above theelectrodes and power supply terminals 107 connected to the coil 104. Thedimensions of the coil 104 can be, for example, 5×7 cm and have, forexample, 1500 turns. The coil 104 is submerged under the surface of thewater 110.

The embodiments of FIGS. 6-8 further include an optional switch 121which can be switched on or off by the user. When the switch 121 is notclosed, then the cell forms basically the same structure as FIGS. 1-3and thus can be operated in the same manner described in FIGS. 1-3 toproduce orthohydrogen and oxygen. When the switch 121 is closed, theadditional coil 104 makes the cell capable of producing oxygen andeither (1) parahydrogen or (2) a mixture of parahydrogen andorthohydrogen.

When the switch 121 is closed (or not included), the coil 104 isconnected through terminals 106 and the switch 121 (or directlyconnected only through terminals 106) to a power supply so that the coil104 can receive a pulsed signal. As will be discussed below, this powersupply can be formed by the circuit illustrated in FIG. 9.

When the coil 104 and the electrodes 105 a, 105 b receive pulses, it ispossible to produce bubbles of parahydrogen or a mixture of parahydrogenand orthohydrogen. The bubbles are formed and float to the surface ofthe water 110 as discussed in FIGS. 1-3. When the coil is pulsed with ahigher current, a greater amount of parahydrogen is produced. Moreover,by varying the voltage of the coil 104, a greater/lesser percentage oforthohydrogen/parahydrogen can be produced. Thus, by controlling thevoltage level, current level and frequency (discussed below) provided tothe coil 104 (and the parameters such as voltage level, current level,frequency, mark-space ratio and waveform provided to the electrodes 105a, 105 b as discussed above) the composition of the gas produced by thecell can be controlled. For example, it is possible to produce onlyoxygen and orthohydrogen by simply disconnecting the coil 104. It isalso possible to produce only oxygen and parahydrogen by providing theappropriate pulsed signals to the coil 104 and the electrodes 105 a, 105b. All of the benefits and results discussed in connection with theembodiments of FIGS. 1-3 are equally derived from the embodiments ofFIGS. 6-8. For example, the cells of FIGS. 6-8 are self-pressurizing,require no-chemical catalyst, do not greatly heat the water 110 or cell,and produce a large amount of hydrogen and oxygen gases from a modestamount of input power, without bubbles on the electrodes.

A considerable amount of time must pass before the next pulse providescurrent to the coil 104. Hence, the frequency of the pulsed signal ismuch lower than that provided to the electrodes 105 a, 105 b.Accordingly, with the type of coil 104 having the dimensions describedabove, the frequency of pulsed signals can be as high as 30 Hz, but ispreferably 17-22 Hz to obtain optimal results.

Parahydrogen is not as highly combustible as orthohydrogen and hence isa slower burning form of hydrogen. Thus, if parahydrogen is produced bythe cell, the parahydrogen can be coupled to a suitable device such as acooker or a furnace to provide a source of power or heat with a slowerflame.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary power supply for providing D.C. pulsedsignals such as those illustrated in FIGS. 4a-4 c to the electrodesillustrated in FIGS. 6-8. Additionally, the power supply can provideanother pulsed signal to the coil. As will be readily understood bythose skilled in the art, any other power supply which is capable ofproviding the pulsed signals discussed above to the electrodes of thecell and the coil can be substituted therefor. Alternatively, the pulsedsignals provided to the electrodes and the coil can be provided by twoseparate power supplies.

The portion of the power supply (astable circuit, R2-R6, TR1-TR3, D2)providing a pulsed signal to the electrodes of the cell is identical tothat illustrated in FIG. 5. The power supply illustrated in FIG. 9further includes the following parts and their respective exemplaryvalues:

Divide by N counter 4018 BPC or equivalent logic circuit Monostablecircuit NE 554 or equivalent logic circuit Resistor R1 10K TransistorTR4 2N3055 or any high speed high current silicon switch Diode D11N4007.

The input of the divide by N counter (hereinafter “the divider”) isconnected to the collector of transistor TR1. The output of the divideris connected to the monostable circuit and the output of the monostablecircuit is connected to the base of transistor TR4 through resistor R1.The collector of the transistor TR4 is connected to one end of the coiland a diode D1. The other end of the coil and the diode D1 is connectedto the voltage supply Vcc. The resistor R1 ensures that TR4 is fullysaturated. The diode D2 prevents any induced back emf generated withinthe coil from damaging the rest of the circuit. As illustrated in FIGS.6-8, a switch 121 can also be incorporated into the circuit to allow theuser to switch between (1) a cell which produces orthohydrogen andoxygen, and (2) a cell which produces at least parahydrogen and oygen.

The high/low switching of the collector voltage of the transistor TR1provides a pulsed signal to the divider. The divider divides this pulsedsignal by N (where N is a positive integer) to produce a pulsed outputsignal. This output signal is used to trigger the monostable circuit.The monostable circuit restores the pulse length so that it has asuitable timing. The output signal from the monostable circuit isprovided to the base of the transistor TR4 through resistor R1 to switchthe transistor TR4 on/off. When the transistor TR4 is switched on, thecoil is placed between Vcc and ground. When the transistor TR4 isswitched off, the coil is disconnected from the rest of the circuit. Asdiscussed in conjunction with FIGS. 6-8, the frequency of pulse signalprovided to the coil is switched at a rate preferably between 17-22 Hz;i.e., much lower than the frequency of the pulsed signal provided to theelectrodes.

As indicated above, it is not required that the circuit (divider,monostable circuit, R1, TR4 and D1) providing the pulsed signal to thecoil be connected to the circuit (astable circuit, R2-R6, TR1-TR3, D2)providing the pulsed signal to the electrodes. However, connecting thecircuits in this manner will provide an easy way to initiate the pulsedsignal to the coil.

A working prototype of the present invention has been successfully builtand operated with the exemplary and optimal parameters indicated aboveto generate orthohydrogen, parahydrogen and oxygen from water. Theoutput gas from the prototype has been connected by a tube to themanifold inlet of a small one cylinder gasoline engine, with thecarburetor removed, and has thus successfully run such engine withoutany gasoline.

It will be obvious to those having skill in the art that many changesmay be made to the details of the above-described embodiment of thisinvention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. Thescope of the present invention should, therefore, be determined only bythe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a container for holdinga fluid including water; a pair of electrodes arranged within thecontainer, the electrodes being spaced apart from each other by 5 mm orless; a power supply coupled to the electrodes for providing a pulsedelectrical signal to one of the electrodes, the pulsed electrical signalhaving a frequency from 10 to 250 kHz; and wherein the electrodes areadapted for submersion in the fluid.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 inwhich the pulsed electrical signal has a voltage of 12 volts and acurrent of 300 ma.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the pulsedelectrical signal has a mark-space ratio between approximately 1:1 andapproximately 10:1.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the pulsedelectrical signal has a square-wave waveform.
 5. The apparatus of claim1 in which the electrodes include a pair of flat plates.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 5, further comprising at least one additional pair ofelectrodes coupled to the power supply, wherein each electrode of theadditional pair of electrodes forms a flat plate.
 7. The apparatus ofclaim 5 in which the electrodes are both formed of the same material. 8.The apparatus of claim 7 in which the material forming the electrodes isstainless steel.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the apparatus isadapted to produce hydrogen and oxygen from the fluid in the absence ofa chemical catalyst.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1 in which the containerincludes a pressure relief valve that opens when the pressure within thecontainer exceeds a predetermined threshold.
 11. The apparatus of claim1 in which the apparatus is adapted to produce hydrogen and oxygen fromthe fluid in response to the pulsed electrical signal, and the containerincludes an output port for outputting the hydrogen and, oxygen, andfurther comprising: a device including an input port connected to theoutput port for receiving the hydrogen and oxygen, the device selectedfrom the group consisting of: a. an internal combustion engine; b. areciprocating piston engine; c. a gas turbine engine; d. a stove; e. aheater; f. a furnace; g. a distillation unit; h. a water purificationunit; and i. a hydrogen/oxygen flame jet.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1in which one of the pair of electrodes forms an inner cylinder and theother of the pair of electrodes forms an outer cylinder surrounding theinner cylinder.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 in which the electrodesare both formed of the same material.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 inwhich the material forming the electrodes is stainless steel.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 1 in which the frequency of the pulsed electricalsignal is variable.
 16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: acoil arranged within the container; and a second power supply coupled tothe coil for applying a second electrical signal to the coil.